BMI 18.7 and comments about being too thin

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BMI 18.7 and comments about being too thin

Postby VegMama83 » Tue Aug 31, 2021 6:20 am

I have always been slim (except when I was pregnant, but the weight came off after having my children). Anyway, since being on this diet I have lost a little bit more weight and now I have managed to stop losing. My BMI is 18.7, which is fine, but I did see that 18.5 and lower is underweight...so I need to be careful not to lose weight. But I have had a couple comments about me looking too thin. Most recently from my sister who has not seen me for a while, she basically said I do not look healthy and I looked better before I was doing this way of eating.

I am doing this diet to help manage my blood pressure. What do people do when they are trying to maintain or gain a little weight, but not having too much fat? I have a little fat in flaxseeds in my porridge, half an avocado with my lunch. Should I add nuts more often? I eat 3 full meals, plus have snacks. My metabolism has always been fast. I just want to look healthy. An example of what I ate yesterday:

Oatmeal with mashed banana, blue berries, flax meal and cinnamon (I have this almost every day because its so good!)
apple
brown rice with black beans cooked with onion and tomatoes, sweet potato, half an avocado, spring onion
banana, blue berry and strawberry smoothie made with a dollop of coconut yogurt and water
pasta with veggie tomato sauce, salad
slice of toast with humus and cucumber
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Re: BMI 18.7 and comments about being too thin

Postby Ejeff » Tue Aug 31, 2021 6:41 am

Do you feel good and have lots of energy? Do you sleep well? Do you think you look unhealthy or too skinny?

My BMI is similar to yours and quite often friends and family say I’m just skin and bones. Of course I’m actually just at a healthy weight, but there is so much obesity everywhere people are no longer used to seeing what a normal body looks like. This is why they make such comments in my opinion. Ignore comments from family, if you feel good and have no other issues.

If you don’t have cholesterol or blood pressure issues then it’s probably okay to add some nuts to your diet. If you do have these health concerns and need to gain some weight eat a bit more at each meal or add in a couple more snacks. You don’t necessarily have to change what you eat, just the amount.

Erin
"The more disciplined your environment is, the less disciplined you need to be. Don't swim upstream."
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Re: BMI 18.7 and comments about being too thin

Postby Daydream » Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:52 am

Your BMI and the diet you eat sounds great to me. If you feel good, I wouldn't pay attention to comments like what your sister said. I think you are lucky to have a fast metabolism!
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Re: BMI 18.7 and comments about being too thin

Postby debknott » Tue Aug 31, 2021 12:36 pm

Does your doctor think you are too thin? If so, eat a bit more. If he says your weight is healthy, ignore everyone else.
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Re: BMI 18.7 and comments about being too thin

Postby VegMama83 » Wed Sep 01, 2021 10:54 am

The doctor has never commented on my weight, so I assume that means I am okay. I am still waiting to sleep well on this diet, but there are external factors that contribute to my sleeping issues. I am so used to waking in the night from 3 kids and a dog, I still wake at least once a night even if they all sleep through! But the problem is, someone always wakes me still at least 1-3 times a week...so its hard to break that habit when that keeps happening.

I will try to increase my intake of starch, as my BP is still not in complete control. I notice it still can spike high every once in a while. I had the 24 hour monitoring yesterday and I saw that it spiked a lot through out the day (mainly when I was being active and moving around - 3 kids and a dog!). When I could sit and relax my BP was normal...but when I move around etc it was 150/100 at some times. When I would sit it would be 125/85 usually. It is so frustrating. I think I will have to cut out nuts etc and see if that helps...and no more humus.
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Re: BMI 18.7 and comments about being too thin

Postby debknott » Thu Sep 02, 2021 5:05 pm

VegMama83 wrote: I think I will have to cut out nuts etc and see if that helps...and no more hummus.


Those are perfectly acceptable and healthy foods. Cutting them will likely cause your weight to drop, which you don't need. I also don't think those foods have anything much to do with your blood pressure. Eating less salt is the only thing known to drop blood pressure in otherwise healthy folks.
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